The Crime of the Century (2021): Official Trailer | HBO

Summary

The video script reveals Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid crisis, starting with OxyContin. It details how the company, lacking evidence of the drug's safety, secured FDA approval through questionable means. Sales reps misrepresented this approval to doctors, leading to widespread prescription and abuse. The script also exposes Big Pharma's manipulative marketing tactics, including bribing doctors and hiding evidence. The crisis escalated as companies evaded accountability, even altering regulations. The human cost is highlighted by personal stories of addiction and the call for truth from those affected.

Takeaways

• 💊 Purdue promoted OxyContin heavily, offering it for free to patients, sparking a widespread opioid addiction.
• 📉 In the past 20 years, over 500,000 Americans have died due to opioid overdoses, with OxyContin being a key factor.
• ⚠️ OxyContin, a controlled-release drug, is essentially a heroin-like substance that became a major player in the opioid crisis.
• 🧑‍⚕️ Purdue sought help from an FDA official to get OxyContin approved without sufficient evidence of its safety.
• 🚨 The company's actions weren't just unethical, but may have been illegal, according to commentators in the documentary.
• 💼 Hundreds of sales representatives aggressively marketed OxyContin to doctors, claiming FDA approval.
• 🎉 Big Pharma used lavish events and incentives to influence doctors to prescribe opioids, leading to widespread abuse.
• 👨‍⚖️ Purdue was pursued by authorities for lying under oath and using financial power to hide incriminating evidence.
• 🛑 Pharmaceutical companies were essentially given the green light to continue unethical practices despite the growing opioid crisis.
• 🔒 Doctors who accepted bribes to prescribe OxyContin contributed to the crisis, leading to both professional advancement and criminal consequences.

Q & A

What role does Purdue play in the opioid crisis?

Purdue Pharma is highlighted as a key player in the opioid crisis due to its promotion of OxyContin without sufficient evidence of its safety, marketing it as a controlled-release drug for chronic pain conditions.

How did Purdue Pharma promote OxyContin to doctors?

Purdue Pharma used sales representatives to meet with doctors, claiming FDA approval for OxyContin and hosting parties to incentivize doctors to prescribe the drug. This marketing approach is likened to a 'drug cartel'.

What was unethical or potentially illegal about Purdue's actions?

Purdue Pharma's lack of evidence for the drug’s safety, combined with their collusion with a medical officer at the FDA, suggests not only unethical behavior but potentially illegal actions, such as lying under oath and hiding evidence.

What does the documentary suggest was the impact of these unethical practices on the public?

The documentary indicates that Purdue's aggressive and unethical marketing of OxyContin contributed to the opioid crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Americans dying from overdoses, as opioid abuse spread rapidly.

How were doctors involved in this crisis, according to the script?

Doctors were incentivized, often financially, to prescribe OxyContin. Some doctors willingly accepted money to write more prescriptions, leading to promotions within the pharmaceutical company and, in some cases, prison sentences.

What does Paul Pelletier suggest about the legal consequences for pharmaceutical companies?

Paul Pelletier argues that pharmaceutical companies essentially received a 'green light' to continue their unethical practices by paying settlements and hiding evidence rather than facing meaningful legal consequences.

What was Purdue’s strategy when faced with legal accountability?

When Purdue faced legal challenges, they lobbied to change the laws instead of changing their behavior, which allowed them to continue profiting while avoiding full accountability for their role in the opioid crisis.

How does the script describe the personal impact of OxyContin addiction on individuals?

The script shares the story of a man named Gary Blinn, who describes feeling trapped in his addiction to OxyContin, likening himself to a 'trapped rat,' showing the desperation and helplessness experienced by those addicted.

What role does truth play for the victims of the opioid crisis, according to the documentary?

For many of those affected by the opioid crisis, uncovering the truth about the role pharmaceutical companies played in creating the epidemic is a significant matter, despite the widespread harm that has already been done.

What is implied by the phrase 'drug dealers wearing suits and lab coats'?

The phrase suggests that the pharmaceutical executives and doctors who promoted OxyContin for profit were no different from street-level drug dealers in terms of their moral culpability, despite their professional appearances.